Instant Pot Cheesy Ham Chowder—a creamy, comforting soup that is chock full of ham, potatoes, carrots and corn. A perfect dinner for a fall or winter evening.
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Related: SLOW COOKER cheesy ham chowder recipe
Instant Pot Cheesy Ham Chowder
How can this recipe be bad when it has cheese, ham and bacon? It can’t. The end.
No but really, this is a solid chowder recipe that you’re going to love!
Notes about the ingredients:
Potatoes–I used yellow yukon gold potatoes. I didn’t peel my potatoes because I like the skins. Red and russet potatoes also work just fine. Peel or unpeeled it’s up to you!
Corn–I like frozen corn over canned corn but really both would work. If you end up using canned corn drain it before adding it into the pot.
Half and half–this is found by the heavy cream and basically it’s just half cream and half whole milk. Other options include whole milk or evaporated milk.
Ham–because it’s not the day after Easter I didn’t have any leftover ham. I bought a couple packages of cubed ham that are sold next to the whole hams. This definitely made prep time faster!
Bacon crumbles–I buy these in a big bag from Costco. It makes cooking easier. You can also use 10 slices of bacon that has been cooked and crumbled.
Sharp cheddar–I like to use sharp cheddar in recipes like this because you get the more intense flavor with less cheese.
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More Amazing Instant Pot Soup Recipes…
Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Chowder
Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Instant Pot Creamy Wild Rice And Chicken Soup
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Instant Pot Cheesy Ham Chowder
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5-10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
A creamy, comforting soup that is chock full of ham, potatoes, carrots and corn. A perfect dinner for a fall or winter evening.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups sliced carrots
- 2 1/2 cup diced potatoes (peeled or with skins on…any variety of potato will work, I used yellow)
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 2 cups cubed ham
- 2 cups half and half
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup bacon crumbles
- 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says HOT add in the oil and swirl it around. Add in the onion and saute for about 4 minutes. Pour in the broth.
- Add in the carrots, potatoes, corn, pepper, thyme and ham. Turn off the saute setting.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the SOUP button to 3 minutes (if you don’t have a SOUP button just use the manual/pressure cook button). When the time is up let the pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir ¼ cup of hot broth into the half and half and stir to temper it. Then pour the half and half into the pot. In a small bowl stir together 3 Tbsp of cornstarch with 3-4 Tbsp of water, until smooth. Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. The cornstarch mixture will thicken up contents of pot quickly. Stir in the bacon and cheddar. Turn off the saute setting.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can make this in your 8 quart with no changes. For the 3 quart pot halve all the ingredients and keep the cooking time the same.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I love this recipe! Wondering if you have a suggestion to re-imagine it as a slow cooker recipe? We’re going to Whistler, BC in a few weeks, and a slow cooker will work better for leaving our suite unattended while out playing in the snow.
yes! here is the slow cooker version: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/slow-cooker-cheesy-ham-chowder/
excellent. made with leftover Easter han. cooked on stovetop so added 2 extra cups chicken broth to compensate for loss of liquid. used medium cheddar and 1 c whipping, 1 cup 2% as that is what I had. otherwise followed receive as written. will make again
So glad you enjoyed it Rita! thanks for the 5 stars 🙂
I made this tonight. It was super easy to throw together because the day before I did all the prep work and the chopping. I used instant mashed potato flakes to thicken it instead of the cornstarch. My husband is allergic to gluten so I thought I’d give this a shot. It came out so delicious that he said he doesn’t ever want ham and bean soup again he wants this made with leftover ham. Winner winner! I did increase the broth to 3 cups same thing with the half-and-half and I also had 4 cups of ham and I increased the potatoes. I had a half cup extra of corn and the carrots I didn’t measure. I just chopped up what I had left in the fridge. It was wonderful and flavorful
So glad you and he both loved it! I love your idea of using the potato flakes 🙂
Absolutely loved this. I was looking for a receipe to use our leftover ham from Easter. I found the perfect one. 10 stars if I could!
Awesome! I love when I have leftover ham for recipes like this one 🙂
Karen – This is a DELICIOUS soup and a meal in itself! I made it here in Michigan today where it’s cold and rainy. Made for a yummy, warm, and comforting meal. I sent some over to our kids house for their family and they thought it was one of the best! I definitely will be making it again, especially during the colder seasons. Thanks much!😁
Oh how nice you sent some over to your kids! I bet they totally appreciated that! So glad you enjoyed it!
Good and hearty. When the onions were nearly done I added the bacon bits. Also added some celery. Next time will heat the half and half before adding it to the soup.
Thanks Sharon!
Followed your recipe as written. I was amazed how thick and hearty this came out. I had seconds later in the evening instead of snacking out, and I’m looking forward to it again for lunch on Monday.. I’ve always had seafood chowders, but this is top notch as well.
Thanks Nick! So glad you loved it!
Hi Karen,
I will be using the ham from a raw ham roast. Should I cook the roast first and then cube it? Very excited to make this tonight!!
that’s what I would do!
Made this last night and it was excellent! Will definitely make it again.
Thanks so much for coming back to review the recipe! I really appreciate that.
Unless you direct me otherwise, I am making a slight change to this recipe. Instead of adding oil to the instant pot to saute the onions and start the recipe, since crumbled bacon needs to be added later, I am going to saute the chopped uncooked bacon in the pot first and when done I will remove it and use the residual bacon fat to start the recipe. Will that method change the flavor profile too much or will it work fine?
That will be amazing!!
I’m going to make this tonight. I’ve made it on the stove before. I too will fry the bacon first. I used 4 strips.
I made this exactly as written with the exception of the corn starch slurry. I like using instant potato flakes to thicken any potato based soup. Adds a more robust flavor and more nutrients as well.
This was my first time making a ham chowder and I will definitely be making it again!
I love that idea Jen!
Gonna make this tonight. What should I serve with it?
Cornbread is my fave!
Would I be able to freeze leftovers? It is just my husband and I. I am looking for meals that I can freeze for him when I am gone for 2 weeks.
yes you could!
Thank you. Tonight I made Garlic Parmesan Bacon Chicken, with rice (pip). It was excellent!!! Thanks for the great recipes.
You’re welcome 😊😊😊
Full of awesome flavor. Great for a cold snowy evening!
Glad you liked it Jamie!
Mmmm turned out so great. Love it. Took alot of prep but totally worth it
So glad it was worth it!
Turned out delish. I used half as much onion and added some fresh garlic. Also a tad less thyme, otherwise it’s over powering. Simple and yummy.
Glad you liked it Katrina!
Can this be made without the carrots? I’m out and we are in the middle of a blizzard and I want to make this to use up my thanksgiving honey baked ham.
Thank you!!
Yes should be just fine. Good luck with the blizzard!!!
Yum and yum! I added a large stalk of celery with the onion to feel it was healthier. Definitely adding this to my list of favorites! Great especially for cold weather. This isn’t like other things i cook…Great for adding variety to our meal plan. In the future, I’ll chop everything in the morning so it will take almost no time at all.
I like those ideas Susan!
Hi. Has anyone tried making this with a lower fat milk?
I’m sure it would be fine, just not as flavorful 🙂
Karen…I made this for dinner last night and it was awesome! It was incredibly creamy and very easy, I did however add some chopped celery in with the onions to be sauteed at the beginning. Also we added our own bacon at the end as I prefer mine very much done and the rest of my family doesn’t! I’ve had my Insta Pot for about 3 weeks now, and I just love it!!! Thanks you for all of the yummy recipes….can’t wait to see which one I get e-mailed next!
Brenda, I’m so happy to hear you loved this. I like the idea of the celery!
Made this tonight for 1st time. We had to force ourselves to save some for later. Definitely on our favs. Thanks Karen for all your yummy recipes.
Haha! Good self restraint Dawn 🙂
Can this be made in a crockpot?
Here is a crockpot recipe: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/slow-cooker-cheesy-ham-chowder/
Both my husband and I gave it 10 out of 10.
Yay!!!!!
I made this tonight and it was a hit! It came together fast and was very easy. Will make this again!
So glad to hear this Katt! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I have a family member that is allergic to milk. Do you have ideas about a substitute that would still make it creamy? I know i could leave the cheese out and serve it on the side…
How about coconut milk?
Or maybe unsweetened oat milk. Love your recipes Karen, thank you so much for doing what you do!
I usually use an almond based coffee creamer in place of cream, just make sure to find an unsweetened/unflavored one
Will this fit in an 8 qt doubled?
I bet it would!
Since I am on Keto, would it change too much to leave the potatoes out?
If you are on keto, you will also have to leave out the corn as it is a high carb veg. You could also leave out the potatoes and use cauliflower instead. Make it your own.
I would sub it with cauliflower florets!